-=========================================================================- _ __ _ <>_ __ _ || /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || Amiga Update -News and Rumors /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || (An Occasional Newsletter) / \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_ || BACK FOR THE FUTURE || -=========================================================================- AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga Technologies, GmbH --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 961121 A U R O R A W O R K S , I N C I S L A U N C H E D P - O S D I S C U S S E D G A T E W A Y C O M P U T E R S H O W - A M I G A A M I G A Z O N E F R E E O F F E R Editor's introduction: There are few things more enjoyable than learning of the launch of a new Amiga software house. This week we received a press release from the new Aurora Works, Inc. We lead off the issue with it. We send them a large AU wish for a good future! The second item in this issue is a posting we found on the Internet. It presents a poster's opinions on the upcoming p-OS operating system. Besides presenting a good summary of the project, it gives a feel for the discussion this operating system project has generated. We believe all the items listed in the posting are correct but keep in mind this is not directly from those doing the work. The good folks in the Gateway Amiga Club, St. Louis, will be holding the "Gateway Computer Show - Amiga" this upcoming March. Now there's something to look forward to on a long, snowy winter's evening. We're running another item about "The Amiga Zone", the premier Amiga on-line gathering place, now relocated to the CalWeb system. This is a commercial venture so it costs money to participate - ordinarily. Sysop Harv Laser has arranged for two week free trial memberships. We though you might find that tempting, so we're running his pitch. From personal experience, we know you're unlikely to find a better Sysop or gathering place. Finally, something for all you Amiga Web surfers to consider. We have a press release on the recently announced update to the AWeb browser software. The program continues to mature. We probably baffled a few sharp eyed readers with the last issue. We ran a headline about a story for C-64 fans, of which there are certainly many in the Amiga community. The story itself was nowhere to be found in the issue. We actually had such a story, but pulled it at the last minute. We had some doubts about the legality of the software described in the story and since we couldn't verify it to our satisfaction, we decided not to run the piece. We overlooked the headline however. I've had a few stern words with the Editor responsible (I talk to myself quite a lot anyway). We hope you enjoy this issue Brad Webb, Editor oh ... the Amiga Technolgies buyout? We've not found a reliable bit of information since the last newsletter. Maybe we should all be putting our hopes on Phase 5. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- N E W A M I G A S O F T W A R E C O M P A N Y 20 Nov 1996 The following is a press release for Aurora Works Inc. ******************************************** We would like to announce the launch of a new Amiga software company, Aurora Works Inc. AW's primary focus is to create quality games for Amiga computers, especially the higher-end Amiga machines. Our first commercial release, _Zone 99_ , is scheduled for release in March, 1997 with our main project, _Betrayed_ , to be released in time for Christmas next year. Demo and shareware versions of each title will be available sooner so check our website at www.auroraworks.com for more details. Aurora Works' purpose is to support the future of the Amiga computer and the new technologies that are being created to bring that bright future to light! For more information contact us at the following mailing address or email us at info@auroraworks.com Aurora Works Inc. 358-114 Queen Mary Rd. Kingston, ON K7M 7E8 Canada Phone: +1 (613) 549-0204 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- S O M E W O R D S A B O U T P - O S Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 08:25:50 CST6CDT Posted by "Mauro" I Have found this on CSA.programmes... I looked there yesterday... there was a lot of information of proDADs upcoming p-OS operating system... there were even two Screenshots (they looked VERY similar to AmigaDOS, up to the "Workbench" written on the Screenbar of the p-OS Workbench screen :) ) Some information about the OS : - It will be an "AmigaOS Clone" for 680x0 Amigas, DraCo, PowerUP and other PowerPC systems (probably the A\Box, i am assuming). Initial-Release in '97 will support 680x0, DraCo and PowerUP systems. It is NOT a PowerPC port of AmigaDOS 3.1, but it is CLOSE ENOUGH to AmigaDOS. - There is no binary compatibility to AmigaDOS, but from source level, the OS is "2/3 AmigaDOS compatible", according to proDAD. Sometimes it is only a pOS_ added to a function name... proDAD says it is easily possible to rewrite an AmigaDOS program written in C or C++ to p-OS and then just recompile... (StormC will support p-OS soon...) - For programmers there is a debugging version of p-OS that has something like the "Guru" (i call it this way, not proDAD :) ), only that that Guru does not crash. Instead, it simply outputs a text that informs you what happened. ("Null pointer was given as parameter to pOS_OpenFile"...). Of course, out of speed reasons (i suppose), this is only in the Debugging version (as it is only interesting for programmers, anyways...) - there is a developer program called EpOS... developers can ask for information at devsup@prodad.de (commercial developers preferred, but they said there would exist a developer status for PD/Shareware developers, too...) - The OS will run 100% PowerPC Native. - It supports a PowerFull "RTG Library", that supports both, direct access to the Hardware and High Level calls, so the programmer can choose. This "RTG Library" contains MUCH OPTIMIZED GFX calls (compared to AmigaDOS) and it accesses the chunky GFX Hardware directly, instead using patches like CyberGraphX. - At the beginning p-OS can run parallel to the Native OS (on AmigaDOS for example it even can run in a WB Window...), until enough software is ported. - Exec.library (or pOS_exec.library or what it is called now...) is optimized so that the Multitasking is even MORE efficient like on the Amiga (through A new concept called "Fast Tasks", that are optionally available...) - p-OS is fully networking-capable from the standard installation. - p-OS is multiprocessor-capable. - p-OS supports Multi-Monitor-Solutions. - p-OS supports cooperative applications (two programmers on two systems work at the same application at a time, while a third system does the rendering work, for example). - If you want a 24 Bit Workbench, p-OS suppors this too. And, most important of all... according to the info and screenshots : - p-OS looks and FEELS like AmigaDOS !!! p-OS should be out in '97, AFAIK. On the Computer '96, i heard, the current Beta Version will be showed (THIS WEEK !!! :) ). Hope they will release a demo of the OS or something like that :)))) Will be the first Amiga PowerPC Operating system, and i think it is the way to go. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A S H O W I N M I S S O U R I Gateway Computer Show - Amiga97 10/30/96. Purpose The members of the Gateway Amiga Club, Inc. are sponsoring the third Gateway Computer Show in St. Louis, Missouri on March 15 & 16, 1997. We would like everyone to be a part of this show. Overview This two day weekend event will show the Amiga Community that the Amiga is making headway in its efforts to come back. Utilizing our expertise and low costs, a show of high caliber will be funded with minimal cost. The St. Louis metropolitan area has over 2.5 million people and is geographically centered. In the past, many vendors have traveled to St. Louis to exhibit at our show, including Oregon Research, Intangible Assets Manufacturing, SoftLogik, and Amiga Library Services (Chronus). For this show QuickPak, SoftLogik, and IAM have already committed to attend. User Groups in neighboring states have gone so far as to charter busses to attend our previous events. Amiga enthusiasts have traveled from all over the U.S. to attend. With your help, we can make the Amiga shine, and the entire community know that Amiga is not only back, but on the attack! Pricing * Admission Tickets Admission prices are $10 per day, or $15 for two days if purchased in advance. Call (800) 829-8608 for ticket information. You may also mail a check made out to "Gateway Computer Show" at: Gateway Amiga Club, Inc c/o Amiga 97 P.O. Box 811 Bridgeton, MO 63044 * Dinner Reservations Dinner reservations for Saturday evening are limited. A delicious buffet dinner will be served. Prices are $30 per person. We will have a guest speaker. You won't want to miss this. You may make reservations for the dinner along with your admission ticket purchases. Information * Classes Classes are being formulated now. This page will be updated as soon as instructors have been confirmed. At this time we are expecting more classes and a better variety than last show. * Hotel Accommodations The site is located in the suburb of Earth City, near the St. Louis Airport.This allows easy access by highway, and air transportation. The hotel has a large hall, restaurant, and other facilities. The Harley Hotel is located at 3400 Rider Trail South, St. Louis, MO. 63045. The Telephone number is (800) 321-2323 or (314) 291-6800. Be certain to mention the Gateway Computer Show to them when reserving a room to get the special Show Rate. * Special Airfare Arrangements For travel arrangements and discounts on our Official Air Carrier, TWA, contact Best Way Travel at (800) 325-4942 or (314) 291-0110. * Exhibiting Information Call the chairman, Bob Scharp, and leave a message at (314) 739-5181. A recorder is on line. You may email me at: bscharp@icon-stl.net or write to the following address. Gateway Computer Show - Amiga 97 c/o Bob Scharp, Chairman 14850 Phelps Drive Bridgeton, Mo. 63044-1934 USA --------------------------------------------------------------------------- F R E E T R I A L F O R A M I G A Z O N E ! Try the Amiga Zone FREE For Two Weeks! You can now try out the AmigaZone totally FREE for two weeks! So you've read about the AmigaZone but you're not sure you want to join until you can test drive it for a while. Okay, so now you can join and test drive it for a while. Was that easy enough? ;-) To apply for a FREE two-week trial AmigaZone account, all you have to do is send email to harv@amigazone.com In your letter, please state your real name and ask for your FREE two week Amiga Zone trial account. If you want to use a certain "handle" or "nickname" for your account, state that too. But all requests must have your real name included. Be sure to include a valid, working return email path to you. You will get a letter back within 24 to 72 hours with your login information. Once you have your trial account info, to access the AmigaZone you simply telnet or rlogin to "amigazone.com" from any other Internet-connected account you have that lets you use those functions. Here's the fine print department: "WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE TRIAL ACCOUNT?" * Your trial account will last for two weeks (14 days) from the day it's set up. You can access the AmigaZone for up to 120 minutes per day during those two weeks. * You will not be billed anything for this trial account. * You will be notified by email when your trial account is opened. * You will have total access to all the features of the Amiga Zone except that you will be limited to logging in for a total of 120 minutes per day during your two week trial. (Paying members have unlimited 24 hour per day access) * You may download as much as you want from any of our libraries during your 120 daily minutes. * You may read from and post to our message bases and newsgroups. * You may use our private FTP site to snag files too. * You may participate in our nightly, live chats. "WHAT CAN I *NOT* DO WITH THE TRIAL ACCOUNT?" * You CAN'T win any prizes in our Sunday Night Prize Contest Chats until you have a paid account. * You CAN'T log in for more than 120 minutes each day during your trial. * You CAN'T do multiple simultaneous logins during your trial period. * You CAN'T change these limits until you sign up and become a full-fledged AmigaZone customer. * We WON'T send you one of our free UNIX/Internet books that we offer to paid accounts until you sign up and become a paid account. * Your AmigaZone user name will include a special character in it to indicate that you are a trial/demo user until you sign up for full membership. We don't have any "tiered" or "limited" AmigaZone memberships except for having either a full-access account or this special two week trial/ demo account. That's it. Paying members have full and unlimited 24 hour a day access to everything. If you'd like to try out the AmigaZone FREE for two weeks, just send email to harv@amigazone.com from your regular mail program. Please include your full Real Name and your choice of "nickhame" or "handle" (if you want one) and then wait for our reply with your login information. Sorry but we cannot accept requests for particular 14 day periods for your trial account. It'll typically be set up and available and you will be notified within 24 to 48 hours after you request it. This trial account offer has no expiration date. It'll be offered indefinitely. At any time during your 14 day trial, or after it's over, you may sign up and become a full paying AmigaZone member by calling CalWeb Internet Services at 1-800-509-9322 or 1-916-641-9320 and saying "The Amiga Zone Sent Me and I want to sign up." Doing this will get you a full paid AmigaZone membership PLUS a full CalWeb UNIX shell account with 10 meg of shell/Web space for $19.95 per month, FLAT. CalWeb accepts major credit cards or you can be invoiced monthly in the mail - the price is the same either way. If you can't use those phone numbers, you can also sign up at CalWeb's Web site: http://www.calweb.com or by telnetting to calweb.com and logging in as "guest" with a password of "guest". Remember to say "The Amiga Zone sent me" when you sign up. DO NOT ASK CALWEB FOR THE TRIAL ACCOUNT! ONLY CONTACT CALWEB IF YOU WISH TO SIGN UP AND BECOME A PAYING CUSTOMER. YOU MUST EMAIL ME TO GET THE AMIGAZONE TRIAL ACCOUNT! Only ONE trial/demo account per person. Please don't abuse this by trying to request a trial account from different email addresses.We've been supporting Amiga owners online for over eleven years. Please support us by opening a full paid account. I hope to see you online in the AmigaZone! Harv Laser AmigaZone Sysop/Moderator --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A W E B - I I V 2 . 1 U P D A T E AmiTrix Press Release November 7, 1996 AWeb-II, v2.1 update now available! AmiTrix Development is pleased to announce the release of version 2.1 of the popular WWW Browser AWeb by Yvon Rozijn. This update, which is free to customers that have purchased the current v2.0 AWeb-II package, is now available from our web page at www.networkx.com/amitrix.If you have not yet registered your copy, please do so as directed on the AWeb page, or if you have, simply fill in the access form and proceed to the transfer link. Postscript versions of the docs and several datatypes are also available from our page. We would also like to apologize for the slight delay in making the update available, but illness and some last minute changes made it unavoidable. There was no intent to keep our commercial customers waiting, rather we wish to insure that the update is as reliable as possible, and we thank you for your patience. There will be v2.1 AWeb-II packages ready for shipping to new customers by November 15/96. Version 2.1 of AWeb-II will include the following additions: * HTML2.0 & 3.2 support including tables, fully configurable disk cache & browser, configuration/settings window re-designed and split into three sections for improved access, separate control of image and background display, support for client side maps and floating images, access to ClassAct prefs, text search function, graphical print function, more ARexx commands, additional mime types, replaceable button images and transfer animation, greyscale palette support, improved page loading speed and memory usage, colored fonts and style tags, background sounds, popup menu, more compatibility for non-standard HTML code, HTTP cookies, and many other improvements. * Revised and improved FTP, MailTo, and HTTX plug-ins with ARexx macros for configuration & setup. Additional internal MailTo support for AmiTCP & Miami, INet-225 SMTPPost, UUCP SendMail, and external mail using AmigaElm, ADMail, or Voodoo. FTP support for FTPMount and AmiFTP. MSRP for AWeb-II v2.1 is $45.00US / $60.00CAN. Add $5 S&H for direct orders. Dealer and Customer inquiries welcomed, for more information or ordering AmiTrix products, contact us at: AmiTrix Development, 5312 - 47 Street, Beaumont, Alberta, T4X 1H9 Canada Phone or Fax: 1+ 403-929-8459 (Please leave your mailing address, phone/fax number, &/or email address on phone messages when requesting information.) You may also contact us via email at the addresses shown below. * Email: sales@amitrix.com * or: support@amitrix.com * http://www.networkx.com/amitrix/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amiga Update on the net: some issues available in html format at: http://www.sharbor.com/amiga/news/ All back issues available (in ASCII text) at: http://www.globaldialog.com/AdventureCentral/AU.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1996 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified. -=========================================================================- _ __ _ <>_ __ _ || Brad Webb/AmigaUpdate /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ || webb@malamute.med.ge.com /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ || bandr@globaldialog.com / \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_ || -=========================================================================-